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Productivity Commission 1: 4 Key Issues For Racing

Thursday, 24th June 2010

The Federal Government yesterday released the final report of the Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Australia's Gambling Industries. The report contains 4 major recommendations for the racing industry.

The NSW & Queensland Governments should work with racing authorities in those states, as soon as possible, to "replace their across-the-board turnover fees with more competitively neutral & efficient product fees". Within 3 years, the Australian Government should "assess whether the race fields legislation frameworks are legally sustainable across all jurisdictions & give rise to competitive outcomes"; if either condition is not satisfied, the Government should "work with state & territory governments to replace these arrangements with a national statutory scheme, in which there would be a single product fee for each code". This fee should be: "universally paid on a gross revenue basis & replace all other product fees currently paid by the wagering industry, but not other funding channels, such as sponsorship of race meetings"; set & periodically reviewed by an independent national entity "with the object of maximising long-term consumer interests".

The Australian Government should request that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission examine & report publicly on any adverse implications for competition associated with the ownership arrangements for Sky Channel.

The impact of credit betting should be examined in further detail "by either the regulator overseeing the national regulatory regime or the national gambling research body". In the interim, advertising credit betting facilities "should be prohibited" & credit betting "should not be extended to TABs".